July 2012 Staff Picks: Risky Business

Musical endeavors carry a certain amount of pressure (inward and outward). Dethklok’s Brendon Small joins
us in sharing the times we put ourselves on the line in hopes of charting new territory.

Gayla Drake -- Acoustic EditorWhat am I listening to?
NY singer/songwriter
Kelli Scarr’s Dangling
Teeth from Silence Breaks
records is packed with guitar-y goodness.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
Rediscovering standard tuning after 20
years in DADGAD. I’ve written some of
the songs that make me happiest in E–A–
D–G–B–E, and whether that’s because
of the tuning or because of more musical
maturity, I don’t care to guess.

Andy Ellis -- Senior EditorWhat am I listening to?
Howard Emerson,
It Ain’t Necessarily So.
Superb, old-school fingerpicking.
A master of melody, Emerson has a
bell-like flattop tone and a beautiful swing feel.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
In the early
’80s, I stepped onstage at the Tennessee State
Fair in Nashville to play a set with a rockabilly
singer I’d met 10 minutes before showtime.
Rehearsal? Bah. My ’67 ES-335 sounded
fat through the backline Twin Reverb and
the band was hot, so I was happy.

Shawn Hammond -- Editor in ChiefWhat am I listening to?
Shadows Fall, Fire
from the Sky. I’m a
sucker for tight, brutal
rhythms, raging leads, and hummable choruses
all in the same package. This new one
delivers on all points.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
Sliding on
my knees while playing a solo in front of
a thousand kids at my high-school talent
show when I was 14. It was very lame, but
kind of funny.

Tessa Jeffers -- Managing EditorWhat am I listening to?
A friend introduced
me to singer-songwriter
LP (Into the Wild:
Live)—her performances raise my arm hair.
She’s an Adele-level talent but her ukulele-wielding,
eccentric edge is arresting.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
I tried out
for and made it into a vocal competition
while living in Qatar. A respiratory
infection kept me from the show, but
overcoming personal fear is something
I’ll build on forever.

Chris Kies -- Associate EditorWhat am I listening to?
I’ve been completely
surrounding myself with
my favorite tracks off
of Opiate, ®nima, and Undertow to prime
my ears for the one and only Tool show this
year in Minneapolis.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
The reluctance
to seek out a professional guitar
instructor for lessons ... the jury is still
out on the worth of this risk.

Rich Osweiler -- Associate EditorWhat am I listening to?
Stephane Wrembel,
Orgins. French guitarist
Wrembel learned how
to play jazz manouche while hanging out
in Gypsy camps in his early 20s, but his
Django-influenced acoustic offerings also
carry a cool spectrum of other flavors from
flamenco to Middle Eastern to rock.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
Risking cool
status, I stuck with the tuba and piano
in my early years and am confident
both helped me become a better
bassist and guitarist.

Brendon Small -- Guest PickerWhat am I listening to?
The new High on
Fire, ELO’s Discovery,
and Freur—a pretty great New Wave-ish band
that I heard off the Let Me In soundtrack.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
Buying Pro
Tools LE 10 years ago and teaching myself
to use it. Now I make a living using it every
day. It made me a better guitarist, and leaving
it open to create is like keeping a big
sketchbook open.

Charles Saufley -- Gear EditorWhat am I listening to?The Best of Merrell
Frankhauser. Merrell
(revered as sort of a psychedelic
Zelig) is the spark behind unsung
greats including Fapardokly, HMS Bounty,
and the cosmically amazing Mu. But this
collection also spans his early surf work
and his ’70s metamorphosis into a country
rocker. A cool snapshot of the work of a
relentless guitar lifer.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
I love music
so freaking much—I rarely think about it
as a risk proposition.

Jason Shadrick -- Associate EditorWhat am I listening to?
Jimmy Herring,
Lifeboat. I recently dug
this one out again to
remind myself how one combines insanely
interesting lines with a huge tone and
chops to spare.What is the biggest risk you’ve taken
musically, and did it pay off?
Mustering
up the courage to work through Dave
Matthews’ “Dancing Nancies” for my high-school
talent show was a huge risk at the
time. Glad it worked out in a big way.

Stay Connected

Sign up for our email newsletters!

Get the PG Apps

On PremierGuitar.com, "Sponsored Content" refers to articles, videos, or audio recordings that are produced or curated by an advertiser but that Premier Guitar is happy to share alongside our own editorial content due to the Sponsored Content’s educational, musical, or entertainment value. Sponsored Content is clearly labeled everywhere it appears, and Premier Guitar's editorial department has no involvement in its creation.